iZombie: And He Shall Be A Good Man

The fourth season of iZombie comes to a close with “And He Shall Be A Good Man.” As usual, with a season finale, there are going to be spoilers. And, if you know your Elton John lyrics, you know who plays a key part in the episode. As I’ve said before, I salute the show for being willing to shake up their status quo regularly. They also continue one unfortunate trend I’ve noticed about Liv’s personal relationships.

The ever-amusing Johnny Frost is back with disturbing news from Washington, DC. Let’s just say that Peyton’s trip wasn’t as successful as she hoped. Ravi calls her to check in and warn her not to come back. Ravi’s day gets worse as Suki shows up and tells him Renegade has surrendered and will be executed tomorrow. A shaken Ravi tells Jordan, Major’s recovering soldier, a summed up version of all the bad news, and is set to run off after Liv when he gets a surprise visitor– Peyton’s home.

As they get dressed again after their happy reunion, Jordan pops in to tell them she’s feeling better and is going to check on her brothers. Ravi calls Clive, so he can at least get a chance to say goodbye. Clive, however is happily in bed with Dale, and ignores the call. Several times. Then Ravi gets smart and calls Dale, who won’t ignore a call given her position. Their banter comes to an abrupt end when Clive hears about Liv.

Liv is in a holding cell at Filmore, and, just to make things even worse for her, one of her guards is Justin. For those who may have understandably forgotten, Justin is one of her few surviving exes. Jordan gets a check-in call from Major as she gets home, and we see her semi-feral brothers. Her family isn’t doing well under the Fillmore diet (the name is particularly cruel in this instance).

Liv is being led to interrogation when she sees Levon, in his own cell. They exchange I love yous as she’s dragged away, and Levon is clearly not enjoying his time as a “guest” of Fillmore Graves. She herself gets brought to Inspector Lambert. Since Liv hasn’t exactly been kind to “Frenchie” there, this is going to go even worse for her. The beating goes on until Chase wanders in, looking smug and satisfied. There’s a lot of wordplay about the carrot and stick, and Chase has Liv brought to his office. Clive, Ravi, and Peyton are there to say goodbye, and he gives Liv 20 seconds each to say goodbye. He will exchange more time with her friends for each name of an Underground Railroad member. Liv stands her ground and says a tearful goodbye with desperate instructions to each of them. Chase bids the others goodbye with a taunting farewell.

Clive and Ravi check out the execution site, hoping to put together a plan to save Liv. An undercover Major nearly gives them a heart attack as he joins them. Peyton finds some useful stuff in the city archives to help, and asks Ravi an important question as the Railroad prepares to release Levon’s documentary. Ravi makes the brave, if not necessarily smart, choice. Peyton and Ravi get in some semi-romantic banter, with Major adding some commentary afterward.

Chase is one step ahead of the gang, and already planning counters to their rescue plan. The man’s not stupid, whatever else you might say about him. The documentary has been released, with a special guest star narrator that impresses Chase (and is an actual star lending his voice). Jordan gets brought into Chase’s office and offers a deal to get more food for her family. Fillmore mounts a raid that almost succeeds, while Major cautions the Railroad against a direct assault. As they try and figure out what to do next, Clive comments the documentary has over 200,000 hits so far.

By the next scene it’s up to 250, and Chase wonders if she’s ben made into a folk hero. The enigmatic Captain Hobbs suggests they move the execution and do it in a less public venue, which enrages Chase. Hobbs manages to talk Chase into doing exactly what he wants. We never do manage to find out what Hobbs is all about, and I’m REALLY hoping they explain it next season.

Angus has a rare moment of parental pride in Blaine as they discuss the future of their part of the zombie movement. Blaine is trying to manipulate his father into going along with his plan to spread the infection beyond New Seattle, and gets a surprise when Angus reveals one of his highly placed converts. With new information, they plot a zombie breakout past the Fillmore perimeter. They record a video from Angus, exhorting his followers to join the attack in the morning.

Major has hidden allies of his own, and gets the tipoff about the change in time and place of Liv’s execution, throwing everyone’s plans into chaos and nearly panicking Peyton. Johnny Frost is hosting a cooking segment for zombies when Peyton storms in as acting mayor, takes over the studio, and makes her own appeal to the citizenry. Angus’ attack begins as planned, and Blaine actually tries to do something for his father. That goes badly, and they part with ugly words.

A panicked reporter from the outside covers Angus’ breakout, and it seems he was betrayed, and not by Blaine this time. The zombies charge and carnage ensues. Levon and Liv get brought to the execution warehouse as Justin joins the hundreds of thousands in watching the documentary. As a mob forms outside and tries to break in, Chase rallies his troops. Clive gives Major a boost to get him into rage mode to help force the doors and let in the horde. Levon gets in some really memorable final words and Madame Guillotine does her work. Liv’s list of tragic ends to her relationships grows. Major gets in at the head of the mob and all sorts of violence ensues. By the time it’s done, they have shaken up who is still around and who has which job. Before the dust even settles, decisions need to be made about Angus’ breakout at Gate 6. No rest for the wicked, it seems.

The news coverage of the breakout is grim, and we lose another significant character. Liv laments her long list of losses, but gets some good news from Ravi. She also gets some news about changes in policy from Fillmore-Graves. Major and Liv have some serious tension about recent events, and she’s carrying a very understandable grudge. Peyton and Liv talk about Major after he leaves while Ravi prepares Liv’s shot at a cure. Before that can happen, they get called upstairs for a wedding that’s as entertaining as it is unplanned. Liv gives the bride an amazing gift.

Blaine is doing a really odd form of grieving with Candy (no, not what you’re thinking) when Don E comes in. Don E shows a rare moment of both seriousness and concern for his some-time friend, and then a soldier from Fillmore comes in. The new leader mulls over what to do about Hobbs and then makes an alliance with Blaine, celebrated with a weird catchphrase from some recent commercials.

The episode ends with Liv looking tired and sad and ready to just be done with all of this. She’s had a very rough season, I admit. Her sulking gets interrupted when Suki brings her outside for a very happy surprise. The season ends on a very up note for once. According to everything I’ve read, iZombie will be back for a fifth and final season.

What I liked: Almost everything. This show continues to amuse and impress me. They wrapped up almost everything in this finale (seriously, what is the deal with Hobbs?). I hated to see Levon go, but he got a good death. The wedding was really nicely done. I loved that the documentary not only wasn’t the weakness I was worried about (I was really expecting someone to get it and learn too much) but helped turn the tide. Everyone turned in good performances. While I’d like to see them back together, I get Liv being mad at Major. Don E’s scene with Major was touching and unexpected.

What I didn’t: It’s getting to the point where dating Liv is almost as dangerous as holding public office in Star City or learning Flash’s secret identity. Isobel’s final wish wasn’t granted after all. With all the positive publicity she’s getting now, could we maybe get Liv’s mother and brother back at least for a cameo? They were very important parts of her life earlier on.

I’ll give the finale and the season both a 4 out of 5. Great work by everyone. I’ll miss this show when it’s gone after it’s “mid-season” return (whatever that means).